Raspberry ombree cake for the end of the summer. Light sponge layered with delicate mascarpone filling and covered with a smooth mirangue buttercream. 

Ingredients for the sponge:

• 6 eggs
• 300g sugar
• 210g plain flour

1. Line 4 sandwich cake tins with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan.
2. Beat 6 egg whites until stiff peaks. Slowly add sugar, one tbsp at a time, mixing well after every addition.
3. Sift the flour and gently fold it into the eggs and sugar mixture. Use a spatula rather than the mixer. This way the batter will stay light and full of air bubbles, and the baked sponge will be flat on top and fluffy inside.
4. Divide the mixture evenly between four tins, level them out with a spatula and bake for 20-22 minutes. Let to cool completely in tins.

For the filling:

• 300ml double cream
• 250g mascarpone cheese
• 3 tbsp seedless raspberry jam
• To moisten the sponge: 100ml warm water with 2tbsp icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice.

1. Place the mascarpone cheese in a large bowl and mix with a hand whisk until smooth. Pour in double cream and gently whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. At this point add raspberry jam (it is usually hard consistency, so stir it well before adding to the cream)  and continue to whisk until stiff peaks.
2. To assemble the cake, separate the edges of the sponge from the tin with a knife. Tip the tin upside down and the sponge should just pop out. Gently peel off the baking parchment. Place first sponge on a serving plate or a cake stand, lightly brush the top with lemon water and spread 1/3 of the filling on top. Repeat that with remaining sponges and place cake in the fridge while preparing icing.

For the swiss meringue buttercream icing:

• 3 powdered egg whites
• 220g icing sugar
• 320g soft butter
• Pink food colouring gel
• 150g raspberries
• 2 tsp sugar

1. Firstly make raspberry puree. Place 150g raspberries in a sauce pan, along with 2tbsp sugar and 2tbsp of water. Bring to the boil, simmer for 2 minutes. Press the mixture trough a fine sieve to get rid of the seeds. Place in a wide shallow dish and in the fridge to cool quicker.
2. Sift icing sugar and egg white powder into a mixer bowl. Add 6 tbsp (90ml) luke warm water. Whisk on high-speed for a few minutes until thick and glossy and forms stiff peaks. At this point start adding small cubes of soft butter, mixing well after every addition. Add raspberry puree and keep mixing. The cream might look like it’s curdled but that’s fine. Carry on mixing until the cream is smooth.
3. The buttercream is already pink from the raspberry puree. If you want different shades of pink on your cake, divide the buttercream between 3 bowls. Leave one portion of the cream as it is. Add little bit (pea sized)of a food colouring to the second portion and mix well. To the third portion add a bit more food colouring than to the second one.
4. Decorate the cake by piping the icing from darkest on the bottom to the brightest on top of the cake. Place some fresh raspberries on top.